OPMs pay harsh penalty as Withy snatch late win

MAKING A RUN FOR IT: Old Techs' Gary Quick makes a break as DHSOB's Seb Barnick closes in during their Devon Two clash on Saturday. Techs' Derek Ingleson (bottom left) powers through the DHSOB defence. Match report – see Page 13

CITY side OPMs were denied a massive scalp when fifth-placed Withycombe snatched victory with a last-kick-of-the-match penalty.

OPMs went 3-0 down, but scored the first try of the game when Matt Glastonbury stole the ball and set up Jake Luffman for the touchdown, although Tom Finnie missed the conversion.

Gavin Rea hit a penalty for the visitors, then Withycombe scored two tries, one of the them in the dying seconds of the first half to lead 17-8 at the break.

The home side kicked a penalty to leave OPMs trailing 20-8, but Luffman started a move which ended with winger Martin Skelly scorching in for the visitors' second try from 70 metres out.

With four minutes to go, OPMs were rewarded for an intense spell of pressure when number eight Ed Steven smashed over for a try and Rea scored his conversion attempt, his kick hitting a post and dropping over the crossbar.

OPMs messed up the restart, lost the ball and were penalised for offside. Withycombe, with the last kick of the match, nailed their kick to nick the game by a single point.

Liskeard-Looe…17 Plymouth Barbarians…11

BARBARIANS stay out of the division's bottom two thanks to a losing bonus point, but left Lux Park feeling they should have defeated their fellow strugglers.

If the city side stay third bottom, they risk a relegation play-off game and joint head coach Danny Stevens admitted: "We didn't do ourselves any favours. I think we were the better side, but we rushed things, rather than go through the phases.

"In the second half, it turned into a bit of a dogfight, to be honest, because both sides wanted to win.

"We have to go into a play-off if we're third from bottom, so our aim is to catch (fourth-bottom) Crediton."

The match was the last for influential back James Hannaford, who is trying his luck with Newton Abbot, but Saturday wasn't all bad news for Barbarians, whose second team beat Tamar Saracens II 10-0.

Saltash cemented third place in the division by winning 38-22 at Hayle.